Chelsea's Cole Palmer gestures during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Leicester City, at the Stamford Bridge stadium in London, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)
Chelsea's Cole Palmer gestures during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Leicester City, at the Stamford Bridge stadium in London, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)
Cole Palmer is NOT in the Chelsea squad to face Arsenal.
Palmer, 22, reportedly has a tight hamstring, having played the second half of the Blues' 1-0 win at home to Danish side Copenhagen in the Conference League round-of-16 on Thursday. The England star hasn't scored for 10 games but remains one of Chelsea's most crucial players under Enzo Maresca.
A win at the Emirates would see the Blues cement fourth place in the Premier League table, boosting their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League. But Maresca, who'll provide an update on Palmer shortly, has decided not to risk his star.
The Chelsea manager has, though, returned goalkeeper Robert Sanchez to the starting XI, with Filip Jorgensen having been in goal against Copehagen. "Yes, it will be Robert playing against Arsenal," Maresca confirmed during his pre-match press conference.
"I've said many times we are happy with both goalkeepers. But sometimes, you have to be flexible. Since we started, the idea wasn't to change the goalkeeper but you have to be flexible; we do this with the game plan, the way we want to attack and defend, but we also have to be flexible with players [changing the personnel]."
Arsenal XI: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Partey, Rice, Odegaard; Trossard, Merino, Martinelli
Subs: Neto, Tierney, White, Kiwior, Zinchenko, Calafiori, Butler-Oyedeji, Nwaneri
Chelsea XI: Sanchez; James, Fofana, Badiashile, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Sancho, Nkunku, Neto
Subs: Jorgensen, Bettinelli, Adarabioyo, Dewsbury-Hall, Chalobah, Gusto, George, Acheampong, Lavia
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